Jesus Messiah —

Even though the world (and the Jewish people in particular) had waited thousands of years for the Messiah to come, when He finally arrived, they rejected Him. Even today, Jesus is considered an imposter by many. But this rejection is only possible when you reject the facts. And the fact is, Jesus fulfilled more than 300 Old Testament prophecies when He came 2,000 years ago. This has been documented by numerous scholars over the years.[1]^,[2] This evidence is so powerful that Jesus skeptics have had to come up with alternative explanations.

1. These Messianic Prophecies are about the nation of Israel not the Messiah.

The most common alternative explanation is that the prophecies are about the nation of Israel and not the Messiah. On the surface this theory may sound reasonable but, as many Christian scholars (both Jewish and non-Jewish) have pointed out, when you dig into the details it simply doesn’t work.[3] As an example, let’s consider the most disputed passage in the Old Testament—Isaiah 53. This is known famously as the “Suffering Servant” passage and it runs from Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12. And much could be said about this passage but let me just give you three points. First, if you read it carefully you will see that the mission of the Suffering Servant in this passage is very different and distinct from the nation of Israel. Second, all ancient rabbis believed that this passage was about the Messiah and not Israel. The shift of interpretation was largely a response to Christian missionaries who would use this passage to show that it is about Jesus.[4] And third, Isaiah 53 speaks so clearly about the Messiah that Jewish rabbis often skip right over it in their synagogue services. Indeed, when Jewish people are finally exposed to this chapter many of them come to realize that Jesus is the Suffering Servant and Savior.

2. Jesus controlled these prophecies to appear like He was the Messiah.

Another alternative theory is that Jesus purposely controlled and fulfilled these prophecies to simply appear like He was the Messiah. But this also doesn’t work. As Grant Jeffrey pointed out, “Some Bible critics, such as Professor Hugh J. Schonfield, have suggested that Jesus of Nazareth, as a rabbi, naturally knew about these predictions and simply arranged the events of His life to fulfill these specific prophecies. But how would you arrange to be born in Bethlehem? How would you manage to be born into the tribe of Judah? How would you make sure that the price of your betrayal would be precisely thirty pieces of silver? How would you arrange to be crucified with thieves? How would a crucified man arrange to have his enemies gamble for his garments? The truth is that, if you could arrange all of these details, you would have to be the Son of God.”[5]